From Fanboy to Boyfriend
by theperksofbeinganauthor
Summary: AU where pro-heroes have to hide their civilian identity. Pro-Hero Deku is Pro-Hero Shouto's biggest fan and is ecstatic that they are working together. Todoroki meets Midoriya at a mutual friend's party. He finds himself falling in love with Midoriya due to his cheerful and quirky personality. It's too bad that Midoriya is only fixated on Pro-Hero Shouto—his hero identity.
1. The New Hire

**From Fanboy to Boyfriend**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The New Hire**

Moving is a pain, but every bit of it was worth finally moving out of his old man's house. Todoroki dropped the last set of boxes on the counter before glancing around at his new apartment. It was still relatively empty; he still had a lot of work left to do on the apartment. However, he already felt more at home than he had living with his father.

Todoroki was working at Endeavor's Hero Agency for a couple years prior to moving to his new agency. Despite their rocky relationship, he wanted to train and learn as much as he could before leaving to pursue his own aspirations as a Pro-Hero. Despite his less-than-pleasant upbringing, he was still glad to use what his old man taught him. He was going to surpass him and be a hero he could be proud of. Their relationship had gotten slightly better since his high school days, but it still was not where it should be.

Thankfully, before he lost his mind, he got accepted to work at Pro-Hero D-U-I's agency. He had applied on a whim during one of the fights he had with his father, and they were the first ones to get back to him. He did not think he would receive such an opportunity to work at a well-respected agency _and _get away from his father. It was a well-known agency that was just started a couple years ago, yet it is _almost_ on par with Endeavor's own agency in terms of quality of heroes. It had more up-and-coming heroes, so they were mostly relatively young. He was more than elated to take a job that required seeing less and less of Endeavor while gaining new experiences to further advance his career. He got to interview with two of the three Pro-Heroes in charge of the agency, and from what he gathered, they are very young (possibly even around his age) and passionate heroes. Uravity and Ingenium… were their hero names, if his memory serves.

While working at his father's agency for one too many years, he saw too much of his father every day. He was thankful to have a place where it was just his own space. Even if he wanted to live with a roommate, it was very frowned upon in society to reveal your civilian identity to anyone else as a Pro-Hero. The government wanted to make precautions to ensure the safety and identity of the Pro-Heroes who were risking their lives to protect the safety and peace of their communities. Their hero costumes tend to be more on the concealing side, especially their facial features and any quirk-revealing traits to help mask their identity. There is absolutely no reason for Pro-Heroes to reveal their civilian identities—especially the higher ranked ones—to anyone. This makes it easier for Villains to take advantage and attack heroes when they least expect it (or their loved ones). Of course, it is up to the hero themselves if they would like to reveal such confidential information about themselves to those who are close to them.

Even hero courses taught in high school were extremely exclusive and small to maintain confidentiality and identities from the masses and each other. It did not leave much options to interact with other aspiring heroes. If they were to have practice matches with others from different classes or schools, they were to always wear their hero costume.

Aside from his immediate family and cohort that he studied with (he had no choice in this regard since they saw each other daily), nobody else knew that he was Pro-Hero Shoto. He intended to keep it that way. Some people choose to disclose the information to very close friends, but he didn't have anyone like that. He grew up without friends, and he had no time to make any while training all the time. He was barely close to two of his classmates, but he did not maintain contact with them after graduation. He occasionally hears about them on the news. He believes that they both work at the agency he is starting at, but he's not too sure honestly.

While he still had a lot of stuff he had to unpack, he was supposed to start work early tomorrow. He supposed that the rest of his stuff can wait, as he dug out his futon and toiletries. By the time he finished brushing his teeth and laying down on his futon, he fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Midoriya Izuku hears the chatter speculating details of the new hire the moment he walks through the doors of the agency. He knows that there's a new hero starting today and that the hero will be working under him to fill a vacancy in his department. However, he actually does not know their name yet. He forgot to ask Uravity or Ingenium for the hero's name. He figures that he'll probably find out once he sees the new hero anyway, so it does not really matter since he trusts Uravity and Ingenium's hiring decisions. He had a feeling Uravity was also hiding something from him, but he has just learned to not question her tendencies. It is quite unusual that they kept the name hidden from him for so long. Even though the three of them were partners, he rarely gets involved in the hiring process for a variety of reasons. The most recent round of interviews was no different.

If he could remember correctly, Midoriya came back to his office that day—completely sweaty and sticky from his most recent assignment. While he really enjoys his work as a Pro-Hero, this was just one of those days. He spent an hour chasing down a villain who attacks with slime and gooey substances. Unfortunately, most of this will require much more time to get rid of than he suspected. And most unfortunately, he will have to miss out on sitting through the final round of interviews for potential new hires. He was too preoccupied for the past week running after villains to even look through the names of heroes interviewing that day. He repeatedly apologized to his fellow partners Uravity and Ingenium for the mishap, but they are completely understanding like usual.

Pro Heroes Deku, Ingenium and Uravity met each other in high school and immediately became close friends. Upon graduation, they decided to start their own hero agency together, employing mostly younger upcoming heroes that have the potential to make it big. They had no idea that their agency would turn out as big as it did in just a few years.

Since Pro-Hero Deku is requested for more assignments across the city as the Number 1 hero, he tends to be busier fighting villains and skip out on the administrative tasks. While Uravity focuses more on search and rescue missions, rather than taking on villains head on, Ingenium is particularly excellent at taking on the administrative tasks and filling in wherever necessary. Ingenium occasionally leaves the tasks to their assistants too if he is needed out on the field. However, he prefers working with heroes directly and doing work around the agency rather than field work. It was nice that the three of them have three areas of interest and expertise that makes managing an agency easier.

After cleaning himself up that day, Midoriya came into the conference room to discuss hiring decisions with Ingenium and Uravity. Ingenium typically is most involved in the hiring process, but he usually runs the decisions by Uravity and Deku anyway—just so they know who is being hired. If Midoriya is not present to meet the potential heroes himself, Ingenium and Uravity will try to hide the name from him just to keep things impartial and talk only about their discussions during the interview and their background. They believe that his fanboying tendencies may cause biases when hiring bigger name heroes. In general, Midoriya has more knowledge about all upcoming and current heroes than anyone else—even the ones that are more underground or less popular. As a precaution, it is simply easier to just hide the hero's name from him. There are times where Ingenium and Uravity will not let him sit in on interviews because he knows too much about each potential candidate to be impartial. That's probably the biggest reason why they're always okay with him missing the interviews here and there, he figures.

He vaguely remembers the details of all the potential hires after being bombarded with information from the interviews and resumes. However, there was a hero who previously worked with Endeavor's agency. He had some pretty impressive talents, but Ingenium and Uravity were unwilling to disclose his quirk to him. They said it would give away the hero immediately. However, they were both intrigued by the hero—much like himself. They ended up choosing that hero as their final candidate, for his incredible background and existing work in the field. Midoriya didn't know his quirk, but Ingenium and Uravity insist that it is extremely powerful and unique.

Uravity came by his office the moment he walked inside. "Deku-kun, are you excited?" Uravity was leaning on the doorframe to his office with a playful smile on her lips.

His draped his coat on the back of his chair slowly; his hand made its way to the back of his neck as he chuckled softly. "About the new hire for my department?"

"I assumed you would be more excited about it." At this, Midoriya was still confused. He still had no clue what she was referencing.

"I mean I'm excited that we're no longer short-staffed," he answered slowly.

Uravity gave him a weird look before finally remembering something. "Ah! I forgot that I have not mentioned his name to you yet." If possible, her smile grew brighter and wider. "Pro-Hero Shouto," she started slowly, as if waiting for his reaction, "you're a big fan of his, aren't you?"

At the mention of the name of his favorite hero—aside from All-Might of course—Midoriya's eyes widened and lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yes! I just think it's sooooo cool how he has two quirks, and he just seems so mysterious and aloof. But it's super amazing how he fights with villains strategically. He has great control over his quirk, but what makes him cool isn't his strong quirks… it's also due to how he uses it against other villains. In his most recent battle—"

"Deku-kun," she interrupted his rant, knowing that it might take a while for him to stop talking if she let him ramble on about Pro-Hero Shouto. He still was not comprehending where she was getting at. "He's going to be working with us now. Remember that one hero Ingenium and I interviewed the other day that we felt had a lot of potential… well that was him. You agreed with our decision after we told you about him. That's why we didn't want to tell you about his quirk because he's the only one registered with that quirk. You would have known right way, considering how much you follow his work and analyze other heroes in general."

Midoriya's jaw dropped considerably. His hands froze, gripping the back of his chair tightly. His heart started beating out of his chest. There was no way he heard that correctly. "Pro-Hero Shouto? H-here?" he managed to ask. Then, his face turns into one of understanding and starts rambling again. "When you mentioned his name, I didn't think he was our new hire. During the interviews, you just mentioned it was a hero from Endeavor's agency. I was wondering why they would leave such a high-paying position just to come to our agency. It makes sense that it would be Pro-Hero Shouto… even if it's not very prominent in the media since Endeavor's press team does a good job of hiding this fact, but I think it was listed on an independent hero forum once deep down in the comment section somewhere… and if you watch enough interviews with Hero Shouto, you'll notice that his face twitches slightly whenever anyone mentions their connection to each other. It's really subtle though, so I don't think other people would pay attention…"

He did not mention to her that he met him in high school briefly during a tournament, and Hero-Shouto confided about his tragic past to him after Midoriya confronted him about using his full power in battle. Of course, even though both of their personal identities were supposed to remain a secret, he knew that it was _definitely_ Pro-Hero Shouto that he fought against when he was younger. Since Midoriya followed Hero Shouto's career for so long since the incident, it was hard to mistake it for anyone else—his quirk and fighting mannerisms were so unique. It was an incident he remembered quite fondly, which is why he kept it a secret for so long. Since then, he has been particularly fond of the hero, following all his stories since he became a more prominent hero. Who would have thought that he would get the chance to get to know him directly like this?

Uravity nodded. She smiled a little at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, he's coming here to start at 9 AM. But I just wanted to remind you to be professional… since he is working under you," she teased. "I know he's your celebrity crush, after all."

Midoriya immediately flushed. "He's not my celebrity crush," he denied promptly. However, he was extremely excited and could hear his heart pound loudly in his chest thinking about officially meeting one of his favorite heroes.

Uravity just rolled her eyes at his denial. "Yeah, sure Deku-kun." She went on to talk about something she witnessed during her morning commute, but he was only half paying attention. Wow. Hero-Shouto is going to be working with him. His inner fanboy could barely contain his excitement.

_This is going to be so exciting!_

* * *

_Up next... Pro-Hero Shouto's first day._

A/N: Wow, it's been almost 2 years since I last wrote anything for this account.

I wanted to improve my writing skills again, but I'm a little rusty. I forgot how much I enjoy writing.

Not gonna lie, my favorite part was writing all the Midoriya-rambling scenes. This is my first MHA fic. Let me know what you think! :)

I'm not quite sure how long I would like it to be yet. If there's a lot of interest, I might keep it going for longer. We'll just have to see.


	2. Pro-Hero Shouto's First Day

**Chapter 2: Pro Hero Shouto's First Day**

Todoroki woke up with a start when his alarm went off; it took him a while to realize that he was still in his own bed at home. He had that same dream again—it was about a memory from some time ago. There was this boy his age who he had fought against in high school during that tournament. They were sparring, but he did not really know what the boy looked like or anything about him. It was always the same. It started off with them sparring, but this was before he was willing to use his fire quirk in combat. He wasn't sure what that boy's quirk was, but he was breaking his fingers to save him from frostbite—shouting at Todoroki to use his _other_ quirk. "It's your power, right?"

The boy was persistent, but he changed Todoroki's whole world and allowed him to accept himself and his powers for the first time. It always ends with Todoroki reaching out to unmask the boy, but he would always wake up before unmasking his hero.

He may have only interacted with him for an hour at most, but he was so important for Todoroki's development as a hero. He was Todoroki's hero though—he made him into the person that he is today. He was able to forgive himself, make amends with his mother, and slowly fix the relationship he had with his father (if barely). He was stronger mentally and physically after he was able to accept that his powers were his own, and that he was his own person—he was not his father. He wasn't sure why he ended up telling the boy about his whole backstory. He had never done that with anyone—much less a stranger he barely met. However, he felt like he owed the boy the truth after helping him realize that he was his own person.

After some time, he forgot what the boy had looked like, but he still remembers the lesson he has learned. That boy that he fought became his inspiration to become a better hero—to constantly strive to be a better version of himself. He definitely would not have even considered working under his father during high school and after graduation if it weren't for this boy.

He was not sure why he was thinking about this again. He had to get to work on time—it would look terrible on his part if he was late on his first day. He walked toward the restroom to get ready but not before accidentally tripping on some boxes that he had not finished cleaning up from yesterday. _That's why people organize their stuff accordingly after they move, baka._

* * *

Todoroki started at the unfamiliar surroundings and bright décor of the office. It definitely gave off a different environment from Endeavor's darker theme. He checked in with the receptionist, who told him to report to Pro-Hero Ingenium on the 20th floor.

When the elevator doors opened, he immediately recognized Pro-Hero Ground Zero, current Number 11 hero. Todoroki did not just recognize him because he was the Number 11 hero. He was one of the few heroes that he knew the civilian identity of, as they were somewhat acquaintances. They were in the same hero course together for three years, so they got along decently… as much as someone could really get to getting along with Bakugo Katsuki. While he was hard to get to know, they were on pretty decent terms with each other after he mellowed out slightly, and he was pretty glad to see a familiar face among all the new heroes and sidekicks he would soon have to meet and remember.

Todoroki made half a mind to approach him and greet him, but Ground Zero seemed a little preoccupied. He was already shouting at the coffee machine and threatening to blow it up if it did not start functioning right away. Todoroki caught sight of an office assistant telling him that she will do her best to fix the machine in a desperate attempt to calm him down. _Good luck._ The scene made him slightly amused and nostalgic of his high school days; it's been a while since he's seen one of Ground Zero's tantrums. He'd have to say hello later, as it looks like he was too preoccupied with the coffee machine to notice his presence.

He turned his attention to the rest of the building in favor of looking for Pro-Hero Ingenium. Some of the heroes in the office seemed to have noticed his arrival; they started whispering amongst each other and pointing in his direction. He ignored the unwanted attention and stares, but none of them were too noteworthy anyway. He found him soon enough, talking to another hero with wild hand gestures that required him to move his entire upper body.

It seemed like he was finished with his conversation, as the moment he stepped into view, Ingenium turned his attention to him and greeted him.

"Ah! Pro-Hero Shouto! Glad to see you made it here with no problems!"

Ingenium starts off and explains the 3 different departments in their agency. Each department does their own work on different floors. Pro-Hero Deku will be his direct supervisor starting off since he's in charge of all the heroes that fight on the frontline, and they will transfer him accordingly if they find that his abilities will best suit another department or team. Uravity handles all the search-and-rescue missions and the heroes with quirks that are not meant for villain fighting. Meanwhile, Ingenium manages the support heroes, sidekicks and administrative staff. He explains a couple more logistical items, but he says that Deku inform him of everything else he needs to know about the office.

"There are a couple exceptions, but that's generally how the office runs," Ingenium finishes his explanation. "Do you have any questions?"

He shook his head. "I think I got it. I'll ask if something comes up."

"Great! Let me show you around the office and introduce you to everyone. We will stop by Deku-kun's office last."

Ingenium proceeded to introduce him to all the sidekicks, support staff and Pro-Heroes in the agency currently present.

When Ingenium tried to get ahold of Ground Zero who was prancing around the office terrorizing some of the support staff, Todoroki told him that he already knew Ground Zero and that he could say hello to him on his own later. Ingenium gave him an unconvinced look and simply apologized for Ground Zero's rude behavior.

He lost count of how many people he had to greet until Ingenium led him onto the next floor. It was mostly support staff on the current floor, but he did not recall a single name of anyone he was introduced to. Oops.

* * *

Todoroki was not sure what type of expectations he had had prior to actually meeting the current Number 1 Hero, Deku, in person. To be honest, he had no idea Pro-Hero Deku was working at this agency until a couple moments ago. Ingenium and Uravity did tell him his direct supervisor had been too preoccupied to attend the interview rounds, but he never thought he would be working under the Number 1 Hero. Perhaps, they thought that he would know that he was applying for Deku's agency—especially due to the hero's own popularity. Pro-Hero Deku recently knocked the spot right out from his father, during the last JP Hero Billboards Chart announcement, which secretly pleased him (he would never admit that out loud though). He does not follow the news about other heroes often, but he has seen segments of Deku from time to time. He had no idea that he worked for this particular agency he applied for. (In hindsight, he _really _should have done his homework beforehand.) He was expecting someone tough, abrasive, intimidating, and arrogant (kind of like his father).

First off, he was a lot shorter than he anticipated: he was a couple inches shorter than Todoroki himself, which made him more adorable and less intimidating for a hero that is so strong. However, the most striking thing about him was his demeanor. He was just so _cheerful,_ and his light laughter just lit up the entire room. He knew from other heroes and the mass media that Pro-Hero Deku was kind and gentle, but nobody mentioned that he was completely dazzling and _bright._ Even if his hero costume covered up most of his face, he could clearly see his wide smile and colorful demeanor. He was in the middle of laughing at a joke that a colleague made, and he was absolutely captivating.

He wasn't sure why he was so entranced and starstruck—he supposed that everyone must have felt this way upon meeting the Number 1 Hero. He definitely should not be feeling such unprofessional things toward his supervisor though, berating himself at once. However, he supposes, everyone feels a little overwhelmed when meeting someone this famous.

When Todoroki made eye contact with Deku, he saw his facial features change briefly. However, it happened much too quickly for him to make anything of it. "Hello, Hero Shouto! Welcome to our agency. It's an honor to work with you from now on." Deku turned away from his conversation to bow at him.

He bowed back, suddenly feeling unsure with himself. "_Yoroskiku onegaishimasu." _*

"Ah, ohayoo, Deku-kun," Ingenium chirped. "I finished briefing Shouto on all the logistics. I'll let you finish the rest." **

"Ohayoo." Deku nodded and directed Todoroki's attention towards his office. He followed wordlessly.

Todoroki glanced around nervously at his new boss's office. Everything was relatively tidy, but his entire office was decked out in hero merchandise of every kind. There were posters, action figures, plushies, and practically everything that could be made into merch. While an overwhelming percentage of figurines were All-Might, it looked like Deku collected figurines of all heroes. Even working as a pro hero for several years, he was not able to identify some of the heroes in Deku's office. There were _many_ odd places on his shelves and walls that seem to be missing merchandise—like someone had gone through and removed selected merch from his collection. There was even an entire shelf that looked like it had been recently emptied. He wasn't sure why he even noticed it, but it was just rather odd for someone who seemed very meticulous about his collection.

Deku seemed to be muttering something while he was glancing at his office décor. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Oh, no. Sorry I was just mumbling to myself again," he laughed to himself awkwardly. "I just feel embarrassed when I have heroes in my office. I used to be such a huge fanboy, and I guess old habits die hard. I just started collecting a bunch of merch for everyone that I think is cool over the years." His eyes fell upon three figurines on his desk—they were miniature versions of Ingenium, Uravity and Deku himself. It made him almost smile at how cute the gesture was. It seemed like they were pretty good friends, aside from just business partners.

It's a very exhaustive collection. "Your collection… it's cute," he managed. His eyes trailed throughout the room. He noted that there were no figurines of him up—not that he _expected_ the Number One hero to have figurines of him in his office.

Deku cracked another blinding smile and gestured for him to sit down in front of his desk. Then, he started talking to him more about the logistics of his office and team. Much of the information had already been covered by Ingenium, but he forced a smile and nodded anyway through his explanations.

"Say, during our lunch break, did you want to grab a bite together? I always take out new employees out for lunch and show them around to make them feel more welcome. I just thought I'd offer since you're not too familiar with this area, but you can do whatever you want during your lunch hour. No pressure or anything!" Deku went on, waving his hands wildly in embarrassment. "I also have a couple more work things to discuss with you, and I thought that it would be boring if I made you sit in my office for an hour."

Todoroki was slightly taken back by the offer, but he agreed, nonetheless. "Sure, I don't mind."

He finally stood up from his desk and asked Todoroki to follow him. "I'm going to show you to your desk area and introduce you to my secretary. She will help you with anything you may need, since I'm not actually in the office often."

His desk was almost right outside of Deku's office. There were rows of about 20 desks on the entire floor, arranged in 5 clusters of 4 desks. His desk was in a cluster that was closest to Deku's office, he noted. Everything was already neatly arranged for him. He turned around to see Deku walk toward a woman sitting all by herself near Deku's office door—her desk was bigger and farther away from everyone else.

"Ah, Akemi-san," Deku greeted. "This is Pro-Hero Shouto. He's starting here at our agency. Please help him get acquainted when I'm not here. Try not to give him such a hard time," he said with a chuckle. "Shouto-kun, this is Akemi Kai-san, my secretary."

"_Hajimemashite." ***_

Akemi-san was a beautiful young woman with a bright smile that almost rivaled Deku's. She had bright yellow hair, but her yellow eyes stood out more. They glint of mischievousness. Almost teasing, she responded, "_Yoroshiku, _Shouto-kun. Deku-kun, you know I only try to give you a hard time."

Deku pretended to be exasperated, but he failed miserably. "I could always replace you," he joked.

She shot back, "Good luck trying to find someone who will do your paperwork for you."

He laughed in response. "Fair enough. Shouto-kun, let me grab something from my office, then we can head out. I'll be back in a second."

"Where are you guys heading off to?" Akemi-san asked. She glanced at the calendar on her desk casually, trying to see if Deku had something booked for the afternoon in his calendar.

"He's going to show me around the rest of the building and introduce me to everyone I have not met yet. Then we're heading out to lunch."

"Wow, he's taking you out to lunch? He must be fond of you already," she asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, but Deku said…" he stopped himself before he could finish his statement. _Now that was strange. I thought he said that he did that for all new employees. _"Maybe it's because I'm new in town," he supposed.

"Maybe," she answered with a casual shrug. "He was _supposed _to do some stuff for me around that time, but it's not like I'm important or anything," she muttered, mostly to herself.

He shot her an apologetic look, slightly amused at their light banter. It seemed like this was going to be a fun office, and he was already excited for his future career with this agency. While he was unsure at first whether he should have walked away from his father's agency, in that moment, he knew that he made a good choice.

* * *

* _Yoroskiku onegaishimasu._ It's a formal greeting used for someone you want to have a good relationship with… there's no direct translation but it's kind of a combination of "Nice to meet you/Please take care of me/Be kind to me/Please look favorably upon me…"

** _Ohayoo. _Good morning.

*** Nice to meet you.

Just a note, I like sticking random Japanese phrases in my writing. Since I just started taking this Japanese class, it's going to be more often than not. Sorry not sorry.


End file.
